Hotter Nights And Global Warming: Ohio's Climatologist Offers Inconvenient Proof

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- A scientist at Ohio State University released a research study this week supportive of global warming. It agrees with Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who won a Nobel Peace Prize today for spreading awareness of man-made global warming. It says summer nights in the Buckeye State have grown 3 degrees hotter since the 1960s. The increase is seen as a signal that the climate has been altered in the Midwest, probably as a result of human actions. The school's report is here and got some attention but deserves much more . Ohio's state climatologist, Jeffrey Rogers, is the lead author of the study.

"A lot of Americans might expect that global climate change would cause extremely high daytime temperatures in the summer. But in Ohio at least, the high temperatures haven't been changing -- it's the overnight low temperatures that have been creeping up. That means the average temperature over the 24-hour period is creeping up as well.

"In Ohio, we don't have a clear signal of global change, like you have in the Arctic, where sea ice is melting. But these nighttime lows are the next closest thing."

Lake Erie: Shrinking This Summer, Down 8 Inches From Last August

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- Climate scientists have projected that Lake Erie could fall by more than three feet and lose about one-fifth its surface area over the next half century if the Earth heats up. Now there is word from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the lake's depth is already running below statistical norms. Is it climate change? Nobody is speculating yet, but researchers tell The Daily Bellwether they are closely monitoring water levels.

The most recent Great Lakes Water Level Update issued by the Corps says Lake Erie is six inches under its long-term monthly water level average for August, and is eight inches lower than it was last year.

Can't blame drought -- precipitation in the Lake Erie basin in 2.06 inches more than average, or 106% of normally expected snow and rainfall. However, there was less precipitation to the north and the entire Great Lakes Basin is 2.36 inches short of average.

From the Corps' latest data (August 3):

"Currently, Lake Superior is 13 inches below its level of a year ago, while Lakes Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are 6 to 9 inches lower than last year's levels, Lake Superior is predicted to rise 1 inch over the next 30 days. Lake Michigan-Huron is expected to decline two inches, while Lakes St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are expected to drop five inches over the next month. All of the lakes are forecasted to be below their water levels of a year ago during the next few months."

By December, Lake Erie could be some 15 to 20 inches below last year's water marks.

Check out data from the Corps HERE. Projections about the potential effects of climate change on Lake Erie, predicting that it could lost thousands of square miles of surface area, were made in an EPA report last year.

Ohio State U's Forest Research: Everything's Vine, And That's A Global Warming Sign

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Photos of some outsized vines that look like plant kingdom anacondas accompany an Ohio State University research study which hints an increase in greenhouse gases could eventually strangle the Earth's forests.

The vines thrive on elevated levels of carbon dioxide, and they are flourishing at the expense of forests, where young trees can't seem to catch a toehold. All of this could be a signal of global warming, or climate change.

Ohio State's scientists have been studying forestlands in South Carolina, where the number of vines has increased by 10-fold over the past 20 years. The vines climb and wrap around tree trunks with tendrils that bite onto the bark. Their grip is deadly.

Bruce Allen, lead author of the study from OSU's school of environment and natural resources, says:

"Collectively, we're talking about an increase of more than 500 vine stems in 27 acres of forest area that we studied. And all of the growth is within the last 10 to 20 years. Old photographs from the sides indicate there may have been fewer vines historically. There are now so many vines that they're starting to change the makeup of the forest. It appears that as the number of vines increase, the density of small trees decreases at a fairly uniform rate."

Other studies have shown CO2 helps poison ivy, and that vines benefit from the gas more than other plants. The researches didn't say the cause is global warning, but said the increase in CO2 is a "possible mechanism" for the changes they have observed.

Interestingly, they said Mother Nature helps the trees with hurricanes and windstorms. They knock holes in the forest canopy, and the sunlight kills the vines, allowing the trees to come back.

So here's a possibility: Global warming causes stronger storms (as many meteorologists have theorized) that wipe out all the vines that have taken hold because of global warming. The OSU research report is available here.

U.S. EPA Chief Online Today Taking Questions: Climate Change?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Do you think Al Gore is rushing for his laptop? U.S. EPA Administrator Steve Johnson, a Bush appointee, will be online at 2:45 p.m. today fielding questions from the public. He says he wants to discuss climate change, energy efficiency and the EPA budget. This is WHERE you can ask him what's on your mind.

This is what I sent the EPA's boss: "Have you seen Al Gore's movie? Did you find it informative? Should it receive an Oscar? Has President Bush watched the movie? Thanks." Not holding my breath for answers. If there's a response, I'll let everyone know.

The questioning is part of a White House communication initiative called "Ask the White House," which allows the public to submit inquiries to top administration officials via an interactive forum. Some of the transcripts of previous sessions are posted, and they are pretty stiff and formal without much inside info. Mostly a sales job for policies and policy moves.

However, there's always a chance that somebody might break the spin cycle. Maybe Johnson? He's headed the agency since 2005 and started out as a biologist from a small college in Indiana. He has 25 years with EPA, and was a high-ranking manager during the Clinton years.

[UPDATE: It looks like Steve Johnson pulled the plug. Johnson's transcript is HERE He didn't say anything about Al Gore's movie. Pesky bloggers? But he did acknowledge that climate change is caused by man, and said he supports the science. You have to look hard to find that, but it is there.]

Cincy Mayor Lauds SW Ohio Climate Change 'Ambassador'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Cincinnati's Democratic Mayor Mark Mallory says "global warming is a very serious problem" and nominated a city resident to be trained by Al Gore as a climate-change lecturer to raise concern about the planet's growing environmental crisis. Mallory took action earlier this month, a move that preceded this week's release of a report by the Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change in Paris.

The report, due out on Friday, is expected to present clear scientific findings the Earth has warmed, temperatures will continue to rise, and human activity is overwhelmingly the cause. Mallory wrote a letter of support last October that helped Cincinnatian Mary Clare Rietz be selected for training sessions with Gore earlier this month in Nashville. She will present lectures about the information in Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth across the region.

"Global warming is a very serious problem that affects us all and is going to require a united national response,'' said Mallory, who serves on the U.S. Conference of Mayors council on climate protection. ''The first step is educating people about this crisis and how it can be turned around. It is an honor for her to be selected for this important task. She is a true ambassador, not only for our city, but for the world."

The training was done in conjunction with The Climate Project, a non-profit group that gave 1,000 volunteers from around the nation information to present lectures about global warming. Each of the 1,000 messengers is committed to making at least 10 climate change presentations this year.

Gore's plan to use volunteers has been seen as a savvy initiative to build grassroots support aimed at countering those who say global warming is not a problem, or that it is not connected to human activities.

Climate Change In Ohio: Guv Wants Hybrids, CO2 Cut

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order today that sets his administration on a green course by noting "mounting environmental concerns" and the nation's over-dependence on foreign energy resources. Strickland specifically cited persistent energy security risks because oil comes from dangerous parts of the globe. It was the Democrat's second executive order. His first tightened ethics rules.

He did not try to downplay scientific warnings about global warming.

Strickland said he wants a tool for audits to measure the "carbon footprint" of energy consumption in state government. Carbon dioxide gas from burning fossil fuels is suspected of causing Earth's climate to warm by enhancing the so-called greenhouse effect. He also ordered state agencies to cut energy use soon by 5%, and wants them down 15% by the time his term ends in 2011. Strickland ordered the state vehicle fleet to start acquiring alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids.

Strickland said the state should lead by example, and these paragraphs from the order, EO 2007-02S, strongly convey his intent:

"iii. The tool for measuring energy consumption will include means of calculating each organization's 'carbon footprint' which demonstrates the impact our activities have on climate change by calculating the green house gas emissions produced by daily activities and reporting those emissions in units of carbon dioxide.

"iv. Each state agency, board, and commission is directed to conduct a statewide energy audit of its respective facilities, both owned and leased. This audit will use the tool developed by the Department of Administrative Services to facilitate comparisons between similar facilities and should be completed by June 2007.

"v. Upon completion of his energy audit, each state agency, board, and commission is directed to achieve and overall reduction of 5% of building energy use for its facilities within the first years or the next biennium and 15% by the end of four fiscal years."

The entire text of the order is HERE.

Strickland also appointed Mark Shanahan, executive director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, as his energy advisor. There is additional information from the governor's office HERE.